The tape was played during Slaine's time on the stand. The former Chelsey Capital portfolio manager, who pleaded guilty in a separate insider-trading case and is cooperating with prosecutors, asked Goffer who the source was. The Incremental Capital founder wouldn't say, but told Slaine that he was a "unionized construction worker" who was "four-for-four" on his tips that year.

"I don't know what he does, how he does it, but he gets it from somewhere," Goffer is heard saying on the tape.

Slaine wore a wire for investigators as part of his cooperation agreement.

Goffer, his brother, Emanuel, and Michael Kimelman, the latter two former traders at Incremental, are accused of securities fraud and conspiracy. Goffer is accused of leading one of two interlocking insider-trading rings; the other was headed by Galleon founder Raj Rajaratnam, convicted earlier this month of insider-trading.

Prior to Slaine's testimony, defense lawyers attacked the prosecution's first witness, disbarred lawyer Brien Santarlas. Santarlas, who is also cooperating in the case, testified last week that he passed confidential information through an intermediary to Goffer, but admitted he never dealt with Goffer directly.

Editor's Note

In our new section, FINtech Focus, we will profile one of these firms each week. While fintech is a broad category, we will be focusing on firms that specifically cater to the alternative investment industry. Read more…